Senator says opposition to Obamacare shouldn't lead Missourians to go without insurance

Sep. 27, 2013

Roy Blunt

Written by

Gannett Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., said Thursday that Missourians should not boycott the new health care exchanges just because they don’t like Obamacare.

Blunt’s comments put him at odds with Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder, who is discouraging Missourians from signing up for insurance through the new online marketplaces created under the health reform law.

Blunt remains, however, a leading critic of the health care law, and he predicted the exchanges and other elements of the law will not work as the Obama administration has promised.

In a statement released Friday, Blunt reiterated his opposition:

“Contrary to the White House’s desperate and misleading propaganda, I don’t support ObamaCare or the exchanges. I’ve voted to repeal this law, and I’ve supported numerous efforts – including the House CR – to defund ObamaCare because it’s a train wreck.

“I restated this week that ObamaCare will force many Americans to lose their health insurance. As a result, families in Missouri and across America will be forced to decide whether they will go on the exchanges. I don’t support the exchanges, and I don’t think they will ultimately work because they’re simply too expensive. And I will keep fighting to defund ObamaCare because it’s too costly and it puts bureaucrats between patients and their doctors.

“My colleagues on the other side of the aisle had a chance to join that fight today. Unfortunately, they decided to stand with Majority Leader Reid and President Obama instead of listening to the overwhelming majority of Americans who have rejected ObamaCare.”

The exchanges, which are scheduled to open Tuesday, are websites where consumers can comparison shop for health insurance plans and see if they are eligible for federal tax credits to help cover the cost of premiums.

About 6.4 million Americans eligible to buy insurance through the new health exchanges will pay $100 or less a month in premiums because of the tax subsidies, according to a report issued Tuesday by the Department of Health and Human Services. HHS said the lower premiums would primarily apply to insurance customers who buy what are called “silver” plans on the exchanges — the second-lowest cost plan.

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The report analyzed insurance plans and premiums in 36 states, including Missouri, where the federal government will either run or help run the exchanges.

The average premium in Missouri for the second-cheapest “silver” plan will cost an estimated $334 per month, according to the HHS figures.

Subsidies are available to Americans who make less than 400 percent of the poverty level, or $94,200 for a family of four. Insurance purchased through the exchanges will begin coverage on Jan. 1.

Blunt said the exchanges would be “nowhere near ready” to open on Tuesday. But he said uninsured Missourians still should figure out how to get coverage.

“The exchanges are there, people need insurance,” he said.

Blunt said the law was already taking a toll, sparking increases in premiums and prompting employers to drop coverage. But “don’t go uninsured just because Obama’s health care policy” has cost you your previous coverage, he said.

Kinder has said the opposite.

“I would hope there would be active resistance to this law — that people would not sign up,” Kinder said Monday, according to The Associated Press.

Blunt said he is not sure yet how he will handle his own insurance choices come next week. Members of Congress and their staffs are required under the health reform law to buy health insurance on the insurance exchanges.

But Blunt said he might be able to purchase his coverage through the regular market.

“I think that’s still a moving target yet to be defined,” Blunt said of lawmakers’ options. “I’m not sure what I’ll do.”